• A Great friend to the HardForum with a great kid that he is trying to get a scholorship to continue his schooling. Please give hime a vote! Only 24 hours left! Thanks.
    If you have an VOTE FOR KEENAN!

New computer! HELP!

A

AgoNiaDo

n00b
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
14
Hey guys!

Im thinking about buying the following computer in August:


- Q9450
- 4870x2
- Seagate 500Gb 7200 RPM S-ATA2 32Mb x2 (raid 0)
- CoolerMaster Elite RC-690
- Corsair TX-750
- OCZ PC9200 2Gb Reaper HPC DDR2 (2x1Gb) ou x2 or
CORSAIR KIT 4GB (2X 2GB) DDR2 1066 DOMINATOR (CL5)
- tuniq tower cooler 120
- Asus P5eDELUXE or some gigabyte or dfi




Please give me some sustained opinions about x48 vs x38 chipset, memories, whats better for OCing this pc.


Thank u all =)
 
OK...

- Where are you buying everything at?
- What are you planning to use this for?
- Which monitor/resolution are you going to use?
- Which programs/games are you going to use?
- How soon (as in, the number of weeks) are you going to buy this computer?

It looks alright at first glance... but there's a lot of information that you've neglected to tell us.
 
Im using this computer for gaming, watching films and browsing internet or listening to music.
Im buying it when ATI 4870x2 comes out.
I play in a 22' samsung 2232 at 1680x1050.
I play mostly CoD4 but i want a versatile comp in terms of games.
Im buying it in Portugal so.. nvm about comparing prices =P
I might use Vista 64 ultimate.. depends on performance.

I actually have an E6400 and 2g memory at 667 with a 8800gt 512 MB. I hope it will be a great boost, buying this comp =)


Spam me with every opinion, review, and best options =P
 
The Q9540 should be a great step up to your E6400. Also great choice of RAM i have that in my wife's system, helped me overclock her 7200 to 3Ghz stable as any other ram wouldnt post unless i unlinked it.
 
1. Buying a new video card right at release date is throwing a _lot_ of money out of the window
2. Isn't the 4870x2 slightly overkill for 22"? The 4870 might be a good choice aswell, plus you could buy earlier.
3. Look around for 320/640GB HDD models, as they usually use the newer 320GB platters. Good models are the 640GB AAKS from Western Digital or the 320GB/640GB models from samsung.
4. The OCZ Reaper / Corsair Dominator RAM tends to be overpriced, but I guess you chose them because of the looks. If the heatsink design doesn't bother you too much, you might pick cheaper ram.
 
Platano said:
The Q9540 should be a great step up to your E6400. Also great choice of RAM i have that in my wife's system, helped me overclock her 7200 to 3Ghz stable as any other ram wouldnt post unless i unlinked it.
Click to expand...


Corsair or ocz one? ty



This graphic card is going to be awesome in every aspects.. thats why im gonna buy that one.


http://www.techzonept.com/showthread.php?t=303304&page=2 - check benchs =)




I didnt choose those memories for look.. but for performance on oc.. i dont think 100 euros is that much for 4GB of mem.


More opinions please :D
 
You don't need PC-9200 RAM to OC a Q9450 (unless you want to break records)... because it most likely can't go that high.

/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c × [Base FSB speed] = CPU Clock speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 × [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 × [Base FSB speed] = Effective FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

Q9450: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
Q9450: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800 << Good OC
Q9450: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900 << Great OC, near max w/ good air cooling
Q9450: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Possible?

You won't notice a difference between CL4 and CL5, unless you're running benchmarks (and even then, the difference is negligible), so don't pay a huge price premium for lower latency.
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/
 
So u recommend something like this Corsair PC8500 4Gb XMS2 Dominator (2x2Gb) DDR2?


DDR3 seems kinda expensive for what it is right now? What board would u recommend? I just want one that takes the best out of the 9450 in a 3.2/3.6 oc.

I also chose a raid 0 with nice discs.


Does the cooler fit in every motherboard?



ty
 
Btw, will the performance drop a lot if i use vista ultimate 64 bits?


Come on.. i wanna see the experts opinions :D
 
You don't need a dual-GPU card or a multi-card system with your 22 inch monitor. The HD4850 is fine for your needs, but if you must get the best picture possible (along with large frame rates) consider the HD4870 instead.

Choose a P43 or P45-based motherboard based on the features that you want (e.g., multiple Gigabit ports, SATA RAID, more OC features), and avoid the X38/X48 chipset -- again, you don't need CrossFire. Some good choices are the MSI Neo P45-F, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R (or the GA-EP43-DS3L if you don't need a lot of features), and the Asus P5Q series.

For RAM, you don't need any "performance" RAM, but if you're going to overclock your processor, pick up some DDR2 1000 or DDR2 1066 RAM. (In other words: Drop the Dominators and stick with the XMS2 series if they're available.) Chances are you won't need more than 4GB of RAM (get a 2x2GB kit), but you'll need a 64-bit operating system to properly utilize all 4GB of RAM.

Unless you need the BitLocker drive encryption or business features that Vista Ultimate provides -- I doubt that you need them -- stick with Vista Home Premium. There may still be some incompatability issues with some older software, but most of the "bugs" have been ironed out of Vista since it's been released. Overall performance (especially compared to XP) is subjective, so I won't comment on that.

Instead of the Seagate 7200.11 500GB HDD, look for the Western Digital WD6400AAKS instead. It shouldn't cost that much more than the Seagate drive, but it will perform at near-Raptor speeds. (Raptor meaning the last-gen RaptorX, not this gen's VelociRaptor.)
 
Is there a vista home premium 64 bits?

I've heard marvellous things about the new nvidia card.. depending on price ill decide what to do.

What board u recommend from asus? :rolleyes:


Never heard about those discs..
 
22inch monitor, either a single 4850 or 4870 would be plenty for cod4 alone, no reason going nvidia atm, price for power as of now= ati>nvidia
 
I play CoD 4 at a good level.. and the best option to play it is at max resolution of the screen at constant 250 fps with some config.. what u probably dont get with a single 4870. =\

Thats why i thought about 4870x2 since its gonna be bombastic.


Btw.. how many fps will i loose in games like cod4 by chosing a q450 instead of e8500/e8400? Any ideas..?

ty
 
im running cod4 with everything maxed on my 37 inch westy, using an 8800 ultra,

im fairly certain you can do the same on a 22 with a single 4850
 
Im uncertain, i dont have it displayed while i play, i just know im very picky when it comes to performance, and i havnt seen anything to make me check my framerate.

rig in my sig
 
AgoNiaDo said:
I play CoD 4 at a good level.. and the best option to play it is at max resolution of the screen at constant 250 fps with some config.. what u probably dont get with a single 4870. =\

Thats why i thought about 4870x2 since its gonna be bombastic.


Btw.. how many fps will i loose in games like cod4 by chosing a q450 instead of e8500/e8400? Any ideas..?
Click to expand...

I don't play CoD4, but 250 fps seems a lot. I doubt that a lot of people reach that, even if they play it at a "good level". Without drifting into a discussion about pro-gaming and the like, the 4870x2 would still be a waste of money.

For Q9450 vs. E8400 it always depends on how much the game uses the multicore architecture. Right now 2-core CPUs are the better choice for gaming since most of the games don't make (much) use of the additional two cores. With an E8400, you won't have to worry about the CPU bottlenecking anyways, I guess.
 
i was about to comment on the 250 fps issue, I think i can speak for most gamers, as long as you stay around/dont drop below 100, your fine.
 
4870x2 + 9450 its kinda future prespective..


About the 250 fps i get them in low settings at 1024x768 with my actual computer (E6400 + 8800gt + 2 Gbs mem @ 667) so i expect to get like 250 fps at 1680 with this comp.

In cod if u dont get 125 stable/locked gameplay isnt that good.. its a game where its easy to get fps but hard to play with low fps (with this i mean lower than 125)

I played css before and then i was happy with 70+ stable fps.


Buying new comp its a pain in the ass :D
 
ok, well if you want 250 fps maxed, i dont know if a single 4870x2 will do that for you, and i dont know if its possible to tell yet :-/

as for your original post, if you arnt going to be using crossfire, there really is no reason to get an x38/x48 board, just go with a cheaper p45 board.
 
i believe its all in peoples head when it comes to how much fps their cards are pumping out, its just my opinion but i consider myself an eye candy whore and i cant stand when my computer performs poorly, so i end up spending alot to play games at enjoyable levels. i doubt you would notice any difference from 250fps, from 80 or even 100 fps locked, no drops.
 
AgoNiaDo said:
4870x2 + 9450 its kinda future prespective..


About the 250 fps i get them in low settings at 1024x768 with my actual computer (E6400 + 8800gt + 2 Gbs mem @ 667) so i expect to get like 250 fps at 1680 with this comp.

In cod if u dont get 125 stable/locked gameplay isnt that good.. its a game where its easy to get fps but hard to play with low fps (with this i mean lower than 125)

I played css before and then i was happy with 70+ stable fps.


Buying new comp its a pain in the ass :D
Click to expand...

Your system's overall performance varies from user to user -- it's a case of "your millage may vary" (YMMV). There's no way that I can give you (what you consider to be an) accurate assessment as to how many FPS you'll receive.

Having said that, the AMD/ATI HD 4-series cards are better overall performers than the NVIDIA 8-series cards. You'll lose some frame rates by playing at higher settings and/or by using a bigger monitor that has a larger resolution, but you should still receive smooth gameplay with either an HD4850 or an HD4870.

AgoNiaDo said:
Asus P5Q-Pro would be enough to take that Q9450 (easy mode) till 3.6 with oc?
Click to expand...

Yes, it can push the processor to that level, but it largely depends on whether the processor can remain stable at that speed -- again, YMMV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top